(Bloomberg) --

Mining billionaire Beny Steinmetz will appear in a Geneva court in January to face charges of corruption and forgery relating to contracts in Guinea, Reuters reported, citing his lawyer.

The charges have no basis in fact or in law, Steinmetz’s attorney Marc Bonnant said, according to the report.

Steinmetz, along with two aides, is accused of paying or having arranged to pay $10 million in bribes to one of the wives of a former Guinean president in order to obtain mining licenses between 2005-2010, the news service said.

The indictment was filed in 2019, and the opening of the trial was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters said. Steinmetz has attended all of the pre-trial hearings in which he was asked to appear, and will attend the trial, his attorney said, according to the report.

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